How could I ever get used to you?
by adsalor
Summary: Katara has a hard time accepting Zuko into the Avatar Team. Meanwhile, Zuko tries hard to find a way to make her see that he's really changed and he won't double cross them again. How far is he willing to go and where is this going to lead?
1. Chapter 1

How could I ever get used to you?

Chapter one: Tension

By adsalor

* * *

"Hello? Will you pass me the carrots already? It's the third time I've asked." Sokka was reaching with the end of his sword towards the vegetable, trying to get as close as he could with no luck.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Katara gave a vague look to the things placed in front of her and passed her brother a cabbage. Sokka placed it down with a thud and gritted his teeth.

"Katara, is something wrong?" The water tribe boy said as passive aggressively as he could.

"No. Why?"

Sokka slammed his head against the stone table, defeated. Suddenly, he heard a loud stomp and as the table started shaking, two carrots landed on his head. "Thank you, Toph" The Bei Fong girl sat across them and shrugged. Sokka started mincing the carrots with his swords. He tried once again. "You seem distracted lately".

"Yeah, it's just…" The waterbender let out a sigh. She was almost afraid to say it. "You don't think he's going to… _try_ anything, do you? In that little trip of theirs."

"Who, Zuko?" Sokka narrowed his eyes, "Come on, Katara, we've been over this. You have to give him a chance, even Aang trusts him now. Besides, his firebending's gone. Who knows if he'll even get it back?"

"You know I could tell if he was lying" Toph said.

Katara turned away. _No_ , she thought. There was no way to tell if he was lying. She considered herself very good at sensing people. She could often tell when her friends were sad, angry or confused. She could tell when her brother missed his dad or his girlfriend and usually knew how to make him feel better. But with Zuko… Part of her still wondered if he had really been honest in Ba Sing Se, if she had somehow started to connect with him. Or if he had, in fact, only said all those things so she would feel sorry for him.

"I know you don't like him, Katara, but you're gonna have to get used to him being part of the group". Sokka said.

"You wouldn't understand". She honestly didn't think they would. Toph had never been victim of one of Zuko's attacks. The first time she ever saw him, they were all fighting side by side against that blue firebending girl. And Sokka… Well, her brother's nature was always siding with the odds, so for him there was no option.

"Did something happen between you two?" Toph asked.

"What?" Katara's blue eyes widened.

"Did…" Sokka started, trying very carefully to not to get on her sister's bad side. "Did something happen, though? You never really told me anything about that day in the caves."

"Nothing happened".

"I know you're lying." Toph said with half a wicked smile.

"It's not what you think". Katara stood up. If they had such a nerve, they could surely manage to make dinner on their own.

She wanted to be alone. None of them had really had any privacy since the invasion. Plus, she felt like she could use some practice. If anything, it would help her blow off some steam. As she walked away, she came across Haru and the other kids. They had been wandering around the temple a lot; surely they would know a place.

"Hey, guys!" She called after them and they stopped in mid run to meet her. "Have you seen any place in this temple where I could practice waterbending?"

"We passed a place that had two or three fountains that were connected near the next tower over there." Teo pointed towards the tower to the left. "It's not far"

"Thanks" Katara said with a friendly smile and the boys resumed their running around.

As Katara made her way to the next hanging tower, she couldn't help but feel sad about the air nomads who had formerly called this place home. The war had done so much harm to the world and it needed to stop right now.

She tried to imagine what this place would have looked like back then, but it was hard. It was all in ruins now. She brushed some leaves that were hanging down from a narrow entrance and finally saw the place. It was a big opening with three huge round shaped fountains, each connected to the next one with a small waterfall. Over the first one fell a stream of clear water that fed the rest of them. The vegetation had grown wild, and there were even some birds there. It was beautiful.

The waterbender smiled proudly as she started to take off her thick water tribe clothes, leaving on only her white bindings. She found it easier to practice and relax this way.

"Yes, this place will do."

* * *

Zuko smiled to himself. Things were finally looking up. He was finally in his place, and to top it all, his firebending was back and from the right source this time. If only his uncle could see him now… He flinched at the thought of Iroh. It made him sad to think about the old man, but he knew he would have to deal with him sooner or later. Later, he decided as he pushed the thought away.

Anyway, the Avatar fully trusted him now, it seemed, and so did the rest of his team. He wasn't 100% sure about the water tribe boy, but at least he didn't seem to complain, as long as the Avatar thought it was right, he just went along with him. The blind earthbender had been on his side since he first offered to join them, so, yeah, he guessed he won her over somehow. There was no question about the bison since he freed him back in Ba Sing Se.

That left only the waterbender. Her words echoed in the back of his head. "You make one step backwards, one slip up. Give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I will make sure your destiny ends right then and there, permanently."

After what he had done to her back in Ba Sing Se, who could blame her? He would have to find a way to maker know for sure this time that he wasn't going to betray them.

"We're nearly there". The Avatar's voice cut through his thoughts.

The fire nation prince lifted his head and saw the great crack on the ground where the western Air Temple hung from. The other kids greeted them with all sorts of questions about the trip, which the Avatar was more than happy to answer.

They announced dinner would take a little while longer, so Zuko decided to stray for a while. He needed some alone time. He hadn't had much since he joined the Avatar and his group, and now that he thought about it, a bath was well needed too. He still felt sticky from that gooey whatever the hell that was they got stuck in at the fire temple. Come to think of it, how long had it been since any of them took a bath?

He started walking around the ruins, admiring the scenery and remembering once again the last time he was here. The old man had been right, as usual. The place was breathtaking. As a prince, he had been taught to appreciate art and architecture and he considered himself lucky. Not many people nowadays got to see an air temple.

 _Things really have changed is this is what I consider myself lucky for,_ he thought. Though only a few weeks ago he considered having a tea shop and living as a peasant was somehow lucky. But tea shop lead back to Uncle Iroh, so no, not now.

His thoughts led him to a certain opening he hadn't noticed before. As he brushed the leaves away, he found three water fountains connected by two cascades. It was beautiful. Did the others know about this place?

Suddenly, his eyes caught on something moving. It was the waterbender. Her eyes were closed and she was fully engaged in some sort of waterbending… dance? Practice? He wasn't sure if this could be considered training, relaxing or what. She was standing under a stream that fell from the hill, but it wasn't hiting her. She was bending the water, so that it went down spiraling around her body.

She wasn't the helpless child he had first seen at the southern water tribe. At first fighting against her had been a joke, but as she grew older and stronger, she had proved herself a worthy opponent at some occasions. He remembered how fun it had been for him to fight with her at the beginning. She always seemed to be giving 110%, when he usually gave half an effort. At least she put up a better fight than the boomerang guy. He really needed to memorize the names.

The waterbender finally opened her eyes and immediately focused on him. Her whole body tensed as the streams of water turned towards him.

"Oh. You're back." She said. The expression on her face softened a bit, but not her posture, Zuko noticed. Nor did she put the water down. Suddenly, she realized something and Zuko heard the stream of water starting to freeze. "Where's Aang?"

"He's with the others". He couldn't help but feel offended. He knew she wasn't completely on board with him being part of the team yet, but would she go so far as to attack him?

"Oh. I guess I lost track of time." She finally lowered the stream of water she had been holding up and it merged into the fountain. He noticed she also lowered her eyes and gazed at something on the floor. Her clothes. She held one arm with the opposite hand across her chest and looked down.

Zukko suddenly realized he had been standing there staring for quite a long time now. Wait, was she suddenly uncomfortable? She didn't think he was staring at her, did she?

"So how did it go?"

"What?" Ok, he needed to stop being so consumed by his own thoughts.

"The trip?" She raised an eyebrow. "Are we going to have to find a new teacher for Aang?" She half smiled with this one.

"No." This was awkward. He decided he liked her more when they were fighting instead of talking. He rubbed the back of his head. "I got my firebending back".

"That's good".

Was it always going to be like this? Zuko was desperately trying to find a way, anything they could do together so she would at least start bonding or something. But it all kept leading back to the usual thing.

"If you want we could train together some time". The words came out of his mind faster than he expected. Come to think of it, that wasn't a bad idea.

"What?" The waterbender gave him a look.

"I was thinking we could fight each other." Zuko took a step forward. She clutched her arm tighter. "You know, for practice".

"I gotta go". The waterbender climbed out of the fountain, quickly gathered her clothes and ran away towards the other tower.

Zuko was left standing there, alone.

* * *

Things could not get any weirder. As if it wasn't enough that she now had to go to sleep every night knowing that honor obsessed, avatar capturing, psychotic sister having heir to the nation that was destroying the world was right next door. But now he wanted to spend time with her?

Training. She had plenty of friends who she could train with. Though, come to think of it… She started looking around at every one of her friends, all eating dinner together.

What she did with Aang wasn't exactly training, more of her teaching him and observing his progress. There was no way she could really train with Sokka. In fact, she didn't think there was somebody she could actually train with. No one would unleash their full power on someone else of the group. Neither would her. What if she hurt one of her friends?

But Zuko was different. Not that she wanted to hurt him intentionally, but at least he would be able to keep up, if anything. And it's not like they hadn't done it before. There was no reason why he wouldn't use all his strength on her.

Plus, everything that had happened after the invasion had been frustrating. Discussing plans, coming up with places to hide, worrying about their missing friends and family, having no option but to accept Zuko into their party.

She turned to look at the fire nation prince, eating a bit further away from the rest of the group. For a split second she felt a little sad for him. He really was alone in many ways. But then that second passed. She walked towards where he was sitting.

"Okay, I'll train with you". She said. The fire bender looked up to her and blinked. Katara sighed. "You said we could fight each other. For training?"

"Right". Zuko answered, unsure if he was actually hearing these words.

"I wanna do it". She said. "Tomorrow, at the fountains?"

"Don't you think it's a little unfair if we choose a place that is 60% water?"

"I don't need a fountain to get water". There was water everywhere, she knew that now. "It's just… I'd rather not do it in front of everyone. Or outside the temple where your lunatic sister could find us. But if you're scared…"

"Fine, tomorrow at the fountains". Zuko turned around and resumed his eating.

* * *

 _This is a bad idea_.

When she arrived, Katara found Zuko was there already. He was sitting in the border of one of the huge fountains, splashing some water with his hand. Did water feel different to a fire bender's touch? She wondered.

He stood up as soon as he saw her, and they stared at each other numbly for a while. Without a word, Zuko was the first to change his posture into a defensive one. _He want's me to attack first._

She lifted her hands and felt a stream of water rise from the fountain. It was the same feeling, the same energy. She pointed the stream at him. Then she pushed ahead and the water hit Zuko, but barely moved him. The young man brushed his damp hair away from his yellow eyes.

"What was that?" He asked, a bit annoyed and all wet.

"What do you mean?"

"Okay. If we're going to do this, you have to come at me as certain as if I were an enemy, not with an awkward splash."

Katara frowned. He was right; she had barely put any strength in that attack.

"I'm just warming up". She started bending water towards him, harder this time. He kept deflecting it either with fire or his bare arms. Then he started throwing fire punches at her, which she started freezing with water.

She was starting to get confident enough to put some more force into it. And also, there was something about him that sparked an angry reaction on her. Oh his eyes, on his scar. She started using the water of the fountains in all sorts of ways. Ice spikes, large masses, whip, anything she could remember. The more energy she used, the more she started panting and her hair was falling out of place.

It was actually not bad. This could be helpful for both of them. But then she stopped, and when she did, Zuko didn't attack or tried to advance on her. She noticed he had only been defending himself for a while now. She felt terribly annoyed.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked, frustrated.

"I'm fighting", He said casually. He had started to step back while she attacked him so they were now closer to the edge of the temple. His back to the abyss.

"Don't play dumb with me. I've fought you plenty of times; I know how it feels like. You're holding back. Why?"

Pause.

"I don't draw my fire bending from anger anymore, maybe that's…"

"Don't lie to me." Katara cut him, defiant. "Why are you holding back?" Her blue eyes were like swords.

Pause

"I don't wanna hurt you".

So after all this time. After all this battles he still didn't think she was strong enough. She wasn't an opponent in his eyes.

 _I'll show you._

Katara raised her hands and started throwing blow after blow to the firebender. With each one came a memory of all the times he had hurt her and her friends. Each blow grew stronger than the last, but Zuko merely stopped them and stepped back. He didn't even try to attack once. This made Katara feel even angrier.

When he threatened Gran Gran and captured Aang in the south pole. When he took her mother's necklace and tied her to a tree. When he burned the Kyoshi Island. They were very close to the edge now. There was nowhere else for Zuko to go.

"Katara…"

Ba Sing Se.

She put all her fury into this last attack. It was a punch. No water, no ice. Just a bare punch, aiming directly at his face. Zuko moved to the side and she missed. She lost her balance and saw the abyss over the edge. She was going to fall.

Zuko caught her arm and pulled her forward with such strength that her weight pulled him down and they both ended up on the floor.

"What's going on?" Neither bender had noticed that the rest of the group had come to see what was happening. Aang was pointing his staff at both of them.

"Nothing". Katara stood up, straightened her clothes and walked away. She didn't look back at Zuko.

"What did you do to my sister?" Zuko looked up and found the water tribe boy pointing his boomerang at his face.

"Nothing". He said.


	2. Chapter 2

How could I ever get used to you?

Chapter two: Well, this is new.

By adsalor

* * *

Katara rolled in her sleep. She wasn't fully asleep, but she wasn't fully awake either. She didn't remember ever being fully asleep at night since she found the boy in the iceberg. She had so stay alert in case something happened, and there was _always_ something. Fire nation soldiers, pirates, Zuko, Azula and her friends.

Well, at least the threat had gone down by one now that Zuko was part of the team, but she still couldn't help but feel uneasy around him. Training with him had really not been a bad idea at all. It would have been good for both of them. It'd help to stay in shape, lose some muscle and, of course, practice. But then she had to go and screw it up. Her emotions had gotten the best of her and she hadn't been able to control them.

True, he had triggered them by underestimating her, but still. She was a grown woman now, known as a waterbending master, she couldn't let her feelings get in the way. How would she act if she were ever face to face with the Fire Lord himself? Remember all the wrong he's done and start crying?

Bang.

Blue eyes shot open and the only thing they saw were a pile of rocks coming down to crush her. She raised her arm to cover her face, while at the same time scanning desperately for any source of water. Too late. She closed her eyes, ready for the impact.

Suddenly, the water tribe girl felt her body being pushed away and started rolling violently against the ground, then something soft, then again the ground and the something soft.

The next time she opened her eyes, everything was a mess. Fireballs were being shot into the temple and her friends were trying to stop them in any way possible. She was still in the ground and was being held by something warm. Not something, some one. She turned around, almost afraid to do so.

Pale skin? Check. Dark hair? Check. Burn mark? Check.

 _Shit._

Blue eyes met some very concerned gold ones, and she turned away from them just as she felt her face warming up. His lips were moving, but she couldn't hear anything but a ring and the faint sound of explosions and a battle being held just some feet away from them.

She tried to get up and run, but felt an arm squishing her back and pulled her whole body down to the floor. Her back was pressed tightly into his body and through all the madness going on, she could feel the blood rushing up to her cheeks.

"What are you doing?" As she asked furiously, she saw another pile of rocks crashing into the spot she was about to run to.

"Keeping the rocks from crushing you?" He asked. Was she insane or what? She should be showering him with thanks and reverences. Ungrateful peasant.

"Okay, I'm not crushed. You can get off me now."

The water bender stood up and ran away, trying to put as much distance as possible between her and the banished prince. She went closer to the edge to see what was going on.

A figure emerged from the abyss. It was wearing red and black armor, black hair was tied up in a bun with two lose strands masking the face. A psychotic, sick kind of smile graced her painted lips and the yellow eyes were like staring directly into horror itself.

Azula was rising up, standing on the tip of a fire nation war globe, just inches away from Katara. A boulder was shot into the war globe and the fire nation princess lost her balance. She stumbled forward and backwards and reached out for the nearest thing she could grab. She caught a blue, sparkly thing.

Katara's necklace.

The fire nation princess pulled hard, hoping to steady herself, but the necklace immediately broke and she fell backwards into the war globe.

It felt like having her soul ripped out.

Everything seemed to stop as wide, tear filled blue eyes watched her most valued possession, the only remaining memory she had from her deceased mother disappear into the air.

With a heavy sigh, she turned around to leave. At least she was safe, her friends were safe. The blue fire bender did not get her and they could still escape.

It was fine.

Fine

She started to walk away, but then a red figure rushed past her in the opposite direction.

"Wait, Zuko, no!" She yelled, but it was too late. He had already jumped.

As he darted into the air, he started to think that maybe he hadn't thought this whole thing through. In reality, he hadn't though at all.

He had literally just saved the water bender's life, but for some reason she had seemed angry at his heroic act. And when he saw his sister tore out her precious necklace, it had seemed obvious that he had to be the one to get it back. She could definitely not stay mad at him after he emerged from the smoke, wiped that thankful tear from her cheek, delicately brushed her hair away and gracefully placed the necklace on her neck. It was brilliant!

Now, about that abyss he was falling through...

Zuko had caught the piece of jewelry just in time, but in order to do so, he had thrown himself off the cliff. He saw the nearest war globe was actually not that far away and with a push of fire blast, he managed to hold on to one of the sides.

Alright, so he wasn't falling to his death anymore, but as he climbed on to the top of the machine, he found a very similar problem. He barely managed to avoid blue fire that had just been thrown at him. Azula was right in front of him, in her usual attack position.

Yeah, this hadn't turned out exactly like he planned.

His sister's attacks felt strangely familiar and distant at the same time. There had been a time where he, too, had powered his fire bending with rage. He knew better now.

The fire nation Prince took a deep breath and felt the heat of the sun slowly taking over his body, all the way into his stomach and then out again through the palms of his hands.

They ended up blowing each other off the globe. Once again he was falling. He had completely lost track of where the Avatar and the others were. He found out soon enough when the six legged beast came flying out of nowhere and an arm pulled him down onto the saddle.

Zuko turned to see her sister, still falling, and for a second he thought she wasn't gonna make it.

But of course she did.

Once they were at a safe distance from the war globes and Azula, Zuko held out the necklace triumphantly in front of everyone. Instead of hugs, kisses, tears and thank yous, all he got were strange looks, furrowed brows and an awkward silence. The water tribe boy and the Avatar were studying him with critical eyes. He noticed some of the kids and the southern water tribe chief were gone.

"I got your necklace" he said to katara. She looked at him as if he was offering her a dead squirrel frog. "What?"

"She told you to leave it." The blind girl said. He had heard some voices calling after him when he jumped, but couldn't make out any specific words.

"This is your mother's necklace." He said, holding out his hand with the blue piece dangling towards the water bender. Wasn't this supposed to be important to her?

"I know that." She took it from his hand with a straight face and put it on looking down. "Azula nearly fell off the war globe and that gave Aang and Toph enough time to open a tunnel through the cliff so we could escape. Instead we had to go back for you."

Zuko had never felt more stupid in his entire life.

The rest of the trip was held in complete silence.

* * *

They didn't stop to make camp until it was dark. Appa landed on a hilltop at a place that seemed far enough from all civilization and then it was time to set the tents, feed Appa and Momo, start a fire (a task that had obviously been taken over by Zuko) and cook for dinner. The usual work whenever they landed on some place new.

As Katara set up her tent, she raised one hand and placed it on her mother's necklace, feeling conflicted. She had never, ever let anyone do so much as hold it. Not even her brother, and yet the fire lord's son had had it in his hands twice.

Was he supposed to be a hero now? As if it wasn't enough that Sokka and the others had come back from the prison showering him with all sorts of compliments about how great he was and how they wouldn't have made it if it weren't for him and his girlfriend.

He was too busy trying -and failing- to set up his own tent, a little further away from the others, to notice a pair of blue eyes staring at him. Having lived most of his life as royalty, he obviously didn't have much experience with their kind of life.

Katara bit her lower lip. He may be stubborn, but at least he had got her necklace back. And saved her from falling rocks. Twice. And she hadn't even said thank you.

Zuko reached up to tie one of the ends, but immediately lowered his arm again and winced.

Bingo

Katara waited until everyone had finished dinner and were getting ready for bed. She walked over to Zuko's tent, took a deep breath and shook one side of the fabric awkwardly. She didn't want to walk in anything weird.

"Uhm... Come in?" A low, raspy voice coming from inside said.

Nothing too weird was going on. He had started a small fire and a teapot was hanging over it. A few inches away she saw a framed painting of Iroh. Zuko was sitting with his legs crossed on the floor of the tent. He was drinking tea from a small ceramic cup. He looked up, confused.

"Who were you expecting? Your girlfriend?" Katara asked mockingly.

"She's not my girlfriend anymore." Zuko said.

"Oh". She mentally slapped herself. There was no need to be rude. "I'm sorry"

"Uh... Would you like some tea? I learned from my uncle. It's not as good as the one he makes, but-"

"Sure. Tea sounds nice." She sat down across him and watched him take out a second ceramic cup and pour the hot liquid into it. When he stretched out his arm to give the cup to Katara he flinched again. Right. "Your arm. She burnt you, didn't she? Your sister."

"It's nothing." Zuko pulled his sleeve down so she wouldn't notice the burn mark. The water bender grabbed his hand tightly and pulled.

"I'll be the judge of that." She pulled up his sleeve and her eyes widened. It was a nasty burn. It looked like it really hurt. "Alright hold still."

"You don't have to-"

"It'll only take a second."

She opened her water skin and covered her hands in the cool water. It started to glow immediately. Gold eyes watched with great interest. It was the first time she, or anyone else, had healed him with water. Katara delicately placed her hands on his arm and he backed away, trying to silence a grunt of pain.

"It's gonna take a while. Burns heal much faster when treated immediately. You're gonna have to suck it up She said, never lifting her eyes from her task. He nodded. Katara moved her hands across his wounded arm, making sure each spot was properly healed before passing on to the next one. But as much as he tried, Zuko could not hide signs of pain from his expression or small spasms that made her lose concentration. She sighed. It was a nasty burn. And he had taken it for her. She grabbed his other hand with her left one. "You can squeeze my hand if it gets too painful, but please try not to move".

After a couple of not so light squeezes and gritted teeth, Katara cooled the water a little bit and proceeded slower.

"I guess I never thanked you. For what you did to get my necklace back." She said.

"Guess not…" The fire bender lifted an eyebrow.

"I meant thank you. For the necklace. And saving me from the rocks."

"Twice". Was he trying to hide a proud smirk?

"Twice." She agreed. There was a cool breeze that slightly shook the sides of the tent every now and then. The air inside was heavy with the smell of tea and the presence of two former enemies. She let out a nervous laughter. "You know, you're the only person in the whole world who's touched my mother's necklace it since it's been mine. "

"Sorry about that." He said. He had stopped making noises of pain and squeezing her hand and he seemed more relaxed by the minute.

"No, no. I didn't mean to throw it in your face. You know…" She took a deep breath, unsure about what she was considering confessing. "For a second I thought I was prepared to let it go. The first time I lost it I felt so guilty. But this time, at least it gave us an opportunity to escape and be safe. At least it would have been for something. But then when you gave it back…"

Her voice started shaking. She tried her best to hold back tears.

"This war… I know we're going to win someday. I know it. But right now we keep losing and hiding and being constantly afraid to lose people we love. I know it's just a thing, but it's all I have left from my mother".

She felt a light squeeze in her hand, but not from pain. It was then when she realized they had been holding hands for quite some time now.

"What I'm trying to say is thank you." She continued. Half his arm had already been healed by then. "I suppose if anyone can understand how I feel it must be you, considering what happened to your mother".

"She's not dead". He said. Blue eyes went wide and her face turned to watch his.

"What? Are you sure?" She was shocked.

"I confronted my father during the eclipse." Zuko stared at a blank point on the ground. His expression was serious. "It turns out she's alive. She was banished, like me, and she's still out there."

"Zuko that is amazing news. You have to go find her." She said, honestly happy for him.

"I know that." He answered, a little annoyed at the obvious statement. "I will as soon as this war is over."

Katara studied the young man's arm. All signs of the burn were gone. "Tell me if this hurts". She placed two fingers on the part of his skin where the mark had been and pressed. There was no reaction. She repeated the action on several points to confirm that it was all gone. His pale skin was warm, despite the fact that she had been using cold water. "Anything?"

"No." He said.

"There." She put the water back in the skin and lifted her hand from Zuko's (was it still there?) to stand up. The fire nation prince was still siting and he had taken to examining his own arm, impressed by her work.

"Now we're even?" He asked without looking at her. He didn't notice her whole body stiffen at the question. Her fist was clenched; jaw tight. _Let it go, Katara. Just let it go._ The words came out before she could stop herself.

"We will never be even." Part of her regretted saying it right after it came out, but a bigger part didn't. Zuko stood up.

"I know what you think of me." He said, angry. _These feelings will eventually pass if you just leave it,_ Katara thought, _why are you still on this?_ "I know you're still mad about all the things I've done, but I'm trying to prove to you that I'm not that person anymore. Don't you see that? Your friends, your brother, even the Avatar. They all trust me now, why can't you?"

"I WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO TRUST YOU!"

And then everything came out. Yells, tears, words.

And none of them could be taken back.

* * *

 _Where did it go wrong?_ Zuko tried to replay the events of the last couple of days in his mind.

He offered to help her train: she got mad.

He saved her from falling rocks, twice: she got mad.

He rescued her mother's necklace from falling into oblivion, nearly killing himself and she got freakin mad.

But then something magical happened. The ungrateful water tribe peasant had gathered up some manners and apologized. She even offered to heal his wound. A wound he wouldn't have had if it weren't for the spirits forsaken necklace.

He came to the conclusion that he was simply no good with women. Breaking up with Mai through a letter had seemed like a good idea at the time, until she threw said letter on his head. Running away from Jin right after she kissed him was probably not the best idea. Was it worse than stealing Song's ostrich horse?

But wait, this is way off topic. Those were women who you could consider he had a romantic interest in. Or them on him. Either way, this was not the case with the water bender.

Everything seemed to be going fine from the fire bender's perspective. He was making some tea, thinking about his life without bothering anyone, and then the waterbender had come inside his tent and offered to heal him. He hadn't planned on telling anyone about it. He had even denied the offer in the first place, but then she grabbed his arm because apparently she had no sense of personal space and then there was nothing he could do.

It was the first time Zuko had ever been healed with water. He imagined it would be pleasant, but instead he had to bear constant shots of pain. That's when she offered her hand for him to squeeze. It did help to at least distract him from the pain. And the healing did become pleasant after the surface of the wound became less exposed.

From that moment on he had no need to squeeze her hand anymore, but she didn't lift it from his so he wouldn't either. Her hand was soft, as he imagined a water bender's hands would be. He wasn't fully aware that he had started drawing invisible circles with his thumb on the back of her hand.

See? Everything was going fine. He even decided to tell her about his mother. Well, not so much decided as the words just came out of his mouth. But it didn't feel wrong to talk to her about it. She was talking about her mother already, after all.

But then for some reason Zuko still could not make out, everything went wrong. She started yelling at him and crying. She had mentioned what happened between them in Ba Sing Se. He would always hate himself for making the wrong decision then. For betraying his uncle and running away from his true destiny, for nearly killing the Avatar. He always assumed she would have been pissed by the events of that day. But did she sound hurt?

And she had also mentioned her mother. Back in Ba Sing Se, she had implied that it was his face she pictured when she thought of the war and all the pain it's caused her, including her mother's death. Zuko started rubbing his face with both hands. Did his scar disgust her so? What would have happened if she had healed it with her spirits oasis or whatever water? The fact remained that she wasn't going to let the matter pass, so it was up to him to do something about it.

That's when he went looking the water tribe boy, her brother. After a very awkard encounter he hoped to erase form his mind as soon as psychologically possible, Zuko had asked the warrior to tell him about their mother's death. He was hesitant at first, but told the whole story after Zuko explained his noble motive. Even then, the boy had been suspicious. _Suspicious of what?_

"Are you sure that's the only reason you're doing this?" The water tribe boy had said to him very seriously and with narrowed eyes.

"Of course". Zuko felt very uncomfortable. What other motive could he possibly have? What was he implying?

"Alright" The blue eyed boy sighed, "Just be careful with my sister, ok? She's been through a lot".

He wasn't exactly sure what the boy meant by that, but he decided to ignore it. After that he had sat down on a rock and started to think. He didn't notice when dawn broke. He had completely lost track of time until the waterbender opened her tent and came out. She froze as soon as she saw him sitting right outside her tent.

"You look terrible". She said.

Well, he supposed he must, having had no sleep at all. Wait, how long had he been sitting there for? _How long was I thinking about her?_

"I know who killed your mother. I'm gonna help you find them".

The last couple of days had been intense, but they were finally back on Appa, returning to camp with the others. Zuko stared at the girl in front of him, sitting at the other side of the saddle, unsure of what to say. She had a very conflicted expression on her face. Maybe she was thinking if she had done the right thing. Had she?

If Zuko had a man who killed his mother right in front of him, he wouldn't have given it even a second's thought. It was what he deserved. And right after the guy told Katara to kill his mother as revenge, Zuko thought he might puke. It was a revolting being and he would have ended his life then and there.

But she hadn't.

He tried to make eye contact, but she was staring blankly at the floor. Only the spirits knew what she was thinking. She looked so tired. Not physically, but emotionally.

"I thought you were very brave" Zuko said.

She lifted her head slowly and looked directly into his eyes. The hint of a smile graced her face and she let out a laugh, but her expression overall was still sad. There were no tears, but her eyes had become red and puffy. He decided he hated seeing her like that.

The water bender crawled to his side of the saddle and collapsed into his arms. The fire nation prince was frozen in the spot. He felt her sob a couple of times, but the tears never came. That was good. He never knew how to deal with people who cried in front of him. Let alone in his arms.

After a few moments, he felt her body relax and her breathing steadied. He loosened his arms to release her, but he noticed she had fallen asleep. She must have been drained. Zuko pulled her close, as softly as he could so he wouldn't wake her up, and brought her to a more confortable position. So she could rest well, obviously. He also raised his body temperature a little just so she wouldn't be cold.

It was weird seeing her like that after all he had witnessed in the past few days. There was no doubt that she was a very dedicated and skilled waterbender, but he had never seen what she was capable of until now. He had seen her with his own eyes take over the body of another person and move him at her will. He had been so amazed by that. It was a power he had never even dreamt of having. Could she have burst his veins if she wanted to? _She wouldn't do that._

He wondered what it would feel like, to lose control of your own body. What it would be like to have her decide your every movement, to have you at her will. _Wait, no. Dangerous territory._

The full moon still blessed the sky, clearer than ever with millions of stars wrinkling in the distance. The trip turned out to be a good idea after all. He doubted she would still be on edge around him after this. Zuko let a smile grace his lips. At least she trusted him enough to let her guard down.

The waterbender shifted and placed one of her hands on his chest. She pulled tighter on to his body and let out a breath close to the exposed skin on his neck. This sent shivers all over his body and he blushed furiously. Was she really asleep? If not, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest was sure to wake her up any moment now. The fire bender thought this must have been a trick. _Damn male teenage hormones._

He studied her face. How could she look so peaceful when he was so nervous? The moonlight brightened her skin and her hair. Strangely, Zuko felt like he was looking at her for the fist time. He never thought of her as unattractive, but he never thought he'd find himself in this situation either. He wondered what she thought of him, if she did at all. Was his scar so much that she couldn't look beyond it? He had always thought so, but even having one side of your face burnt didn't seem to stop women from noticing the young fire bender.

The girl in front of him had become hypnotizing for the fire nation prince. The constant way her chest rose and fell, the sound of her breathing, her eyes slightly moving. If her eyes had been open right now, he would definitely have been lost in them. He had loved Mai, but as time went by he had noticed there wasn't much more to her than what he already knew. Otherwise, he would have taken her with him. But this girl was different. There was passion in his eyes, more passion that he had ever seen in one small person. There was this strength, this will to do whatever it takes to keep her loved ones safe. Would she act like that for him too, now? He wondered.

His gaze finally set on her slightly parted lips. _She can't be asleep. She's doing this on purpose._ They looked soft and inviting. One little kiss couldn't hurt. _No! Bad Zuko._ She was asleep, for spirits sake. Doing something would be taking advantage and that would be dishonorable. Besides, she would open her eyes and he would end up frozen in the spot. Gold eyes narrowed. But what if she liked it and kissed him back? Unlikely as it was, he preferred to keep that scenario on his mind.

Rays of sunlight were already emerging from the horizon. _We must be close,_ he thought. She'd have to wake up any minute now. As he stole one last glance at the waterbender resting peacefully in his arms, the fire nation prince thought that yes, he could definitely get used to this.

* * *

Zuko was finishing unloading the last of their stuff from Appa's mount when she approached him. She looked calm, even happy.

"I'm ready to train with you again". She said.


	3. Chapter 3

How could I ever get used to you?

Chapter three: Secrets.

By adsalor

* * *

At first, hiding inside the Firelord's own private beach house sounded insane. But after Zuko explained how his family hadn't been here in years -actually, there was one particular visit earlier that year with Azula and her friends, but due to the experience, he didn't think the princess would have any interest on coming back anytime soon-, it suddenly seemed like a perfect plan. The most excited one was Sokka, who strongly believed the best plans involved hiding in plain sight.

The young waterbender had to admit it. Ember Island was such a beautiful place. The house that belonged to the Firelord was considerably outdated in comparison with the other, more modern houses that adorned the shore. It was also very dusty, which meant nobody had been around for a while. Still, it was better than anywhere Katara had ever lived in her entire life, even for a short period of time. Each teen got a private room with a private bathroom, there was a large kitchen, resting areas. They even had their own private beach. If the Fire Lord hadn't abandoned the place, Katara imagined it would be more luxurious now than Toph's house.

At the moment, the dark-skinned girl was headed to one of the most convenient places in the house: a training courtyard. She had agreed to spar with Zuko again and luckily for them, the place was all set. There were even two large rectangle shaped containers filled with water to the top, almost as if they were left there for her. Katara found Zuko warming up on one side of the courtyard.

"Ready, your highness?" She mocked. Did that come out weird? Gold eyes met blue ones as they both adopted a defensive position.

"Ready as ever, peasant" He smiled defiantly. "No games this time. We fight like grown ups. I've seen what you can do".

Katara considered for a moment. She knew she was, in fact, capable of many things, but that didn't mean she liked to resort to violence. She didn't want him to see her like that. But he was probably just provoking her so they could at least have an interesting fight.

"Try to keep up. I'd hate having to beat you and heal you in the same day". A loud roar came from the sides of the courtyard as Katara lifted a big mass of water from each container and smashed it towards the fire Bender's direction.

Zuko squatted and quickly raised a wall of fire from the floor, just in time to stop the water. The place was filled with steam and the hissing sound of water against fire. The scarred boy started throwing direct fire punches at the water tribe girl, moving one step forward with each blow. Each stronger and more certain than the last.

Katara had a hard time putting them all out in time. She put some water around her body and bended backwards to avoid a fire punch, while at the same time pushing that water on ground level towards her dark haired attacker. Once it reached his feet, she froze it. Zuko lost his balance and the fire punches stopped. That gave the water bender enough time for her next attack.

That went on for a while. Fire against water and ice, each teen testing the other's movements, never holding back. The feeling was closer than what Katara remembered had been like fighting Zuko when they were enemies, but there was something different.

The two of them had had so many encounters, it was difficult for the water bender not to include him in her thoughts when she was training. And again when they were fighting, of course, she had to learn his ways so she could beat him. The banished prince was stubborn and proud. His thorough training showed in his perfect form movements and deep concentration.

But even through all their encounters, there was always something about the fire nation prince. Something kept changing and it made each fight different and exciting. The North Pole had been different than the first time. The conflicted, guilt filled look on those gold eyes from when they fought in Ba Sing Se still tormented her and she would never forget it.

She noticed his brow was furrowed and his eyes focused on every part of her body. It made her nervous. Watching his muscles tense and flex with every blow reminded her of the time he saved her from the rocks in the western air temple. He had pulled her against him like she weighed nothing and when her back was pressed against his stomach, she distinctly felt some very well built abs.

 _Focus, Katara._ All this out of place thinking was making her lose concentration on her opponent. He wouldn't be able to notice it, because of the flush of the fight, but she was blushing too.

She had started to sweat and her hair was all out of place. Her mind kept drifting to awkward thoughts every now and then, but she was determined not to let them interfere with the fight. Zuko was advancing on her, now at a close enough distance to make some damage if he wanted to. She bended a stream of water with her right hand towards him, but he deflected it before it hit him and caught her wrist.

Blue eyes went wide with dread. _Am I_ _losing? No way._ She tried to bend another stream from behind him with her free hand but he caught her too just in time and stepped forward, moving her arm around her body until it was all the way on her back. Not exactly sure of what was going on or how they got to that position, the brown skinned girl looked up. They were front to front, very close to each other now.

Zuko still held had her right hand tightly by the wrist and was holding her whole arm up. He had locked her own arm on her back with his other hand and pulled closer so she couldn't move. The water Bender's heart was racing and she was sure she could hear his heart beat as well. His expression was serious, but somehow calm. As if he was weighing what she would do next, but also knew he had her.

All she could do was stare into his eyes. There was something about those eyes. The hint of a process of confusion and pain that lasted way too long. Pride, definitely pride. Too much pride to admit the loneliness deep inside, but also humility and respect.

His breath was warm against her face. Close. Too close. She was panicking. Was he leaning forward? Wait, was she?

"I thought you were supposed to keep up" his voice came out almost like a whisper. Had it always been this deep?

Katara turned her face away and as soon as the fire bender let go of her wrists, she put a safe distance between the two of them. An awkward silence took over for a few seconds. Zuko spoke first.

"Good match. Should we-"

"I'd better go and help with lunch". The water bender didn't let him finish or even turned to look at him as she left.

* * *

The rest of the day had gone by uneventfully. That is, until the water tribe boy came home with urgent news and forced everyone to go watch a stupid play about their lives.

Zuko had made an effort to avoid the water bender for most of the afternoon. Once again, he had no idea where they stood. The training session had begun just fine, but apparently gone wrong at some point. He assumed so because of the way the blue eyed bender had left abruptly. _Agni, what did I do this time?_

He tried to talk to her on several occasions, but all he got were answers like "I'm busy making dinner", or "Can it wait? I'm on my way to teach Aang this new water bending move" or "Appa needs a haircut". Well, if she was going to be immature about it… What was he doing begging her to tell him what's wrong? He was a prince. He shouldn't need explanations from common peasants from the southern water tribe. Why was this still on his head? Since he couldn't figure it out, he resolved it would be better to put the matter out of his mind. She'd come around eventually.

But tried as he could, pushing the waterbender away from his thoughts had proven an impossible task. She was everywhere. He saw her whenever he stared at the vast, blue ocean, when he washed his hands, when he passed through the training courtyard. He still had to have lunch with her and listen to her talk to her friends as if there was nothing wrong in the world.

And then there was that stupid, spirits forsaken play than only helped to remind him not only about all the mistakes he's made in his life but all the times they've spent together. Who were those writers, anyway, and how did they get all that information? If he didn't know any better, Zuko could have sworn the water tribe boy was the author.

After the play, the gang needed to get some groceries. It was Suki's turn to make dinner, but the waterbender had offered to help and the blind earthbender didn't want to get stuck with the boys, so all the girls had gone back to the house and left the shopping to the boys. Now Zuko had to walk with the Avatar, who stopped every five seconds to check out anything from the fire nation that was new to him (Zuko wondered how they all managed to not blow their covers, they were such children), and the water tribe boy who was telling him about an argument he had with the Kyoshi warrior in which he might or might have not said something to upset her, and then she said something, but meant a completely different thing.

"My point is women are crazy". The blue-eyed boy concluded.

"Tell me about it". Zuko readjusted the hood he had on, meant for covering his scar so people wouldn't recognize him. They were already at the market place. Sokka was inspecting some vegetables.

"I mean, why can't they just say what they mean?" He went on.

"And what they want." Zuko agreed.

"Exactly! Don't they see how much easier it would be if they just told us what they want us to say and do?"

"Maybe you guys need to work on your listening skills". The Avatar said.

"Excuse me miss, this is a boys conversation." The water tribe boy mocked. It made Zuko laugh. The Avatar grunted in frustration.

"Stupid play" he muttered. "Laugh all you want. We'll see who laughs when the girls leave you because you don't know how to listen to women".

The grey-eyed boy saw a post that sold stuffed animals and ran towards it to check them out. The two older teens resumed their shopping.

"Is he right?" Zuko asked. He received a basket full of vegetables from the water tribe boy and watched as he proceeded to select some fruit.

"Maybe." Sokka shrugged and squeezed a peach he was holding to see if it was any good. "The way he acts like a child most of the time, it makes me forget just how wise he really is. He's not the Avatar for nothing" That last sentence he said only for Zuko to hear.

"It's not like I haven't tried" Zuko let out a sigh. "I tried to talk to your sister all day, but she just kept shoving me off. What does she want me to do, beg? I'm not gonna do that. I don't even know what I did wrong".

The fire nation prince turned to look at his companion. He had started talking without even realizing the topic or the person he was saying those things to. Very suspicious blue eyes were staring directly at him in silence.

"My sister?" He asked. Zuko flinched. "You're talking to me about my baby sister?"

"No! It's not like… I didn't mean…" The owner of the fruits post started laughing. Zuko took a deep breath in an effort to control his urge to roast him. "I thought everything was fine after the whole Southern Raiders situation. It seemed fine at first, but now she's weird around me again and I don't know why. I don't remember doing anything to upset her. I mean, we _were_ fighting, but-".

"Fighting?" Sokka said. His tone was dry, like he was trying to process the whole thing.

"No, just training." The post owner had to wipe a tear out of his cheek from all the laughing. "Anyway, I didn't hurt her or anything. We were both doing just fine. At the end I think I was about to win, but I never thought of your sister like a sore loser. Do you think that's it?"

"That doesn't sound like her". The blue-eyed warrior rubbed his chin with two fingers. "We don't really talk about that kind of stuff. I mean... did you with your sister?"

" _Spirits_ , no". Zuko couldn't imagine ever having a normal conversation with Azula.

"Katara has a lot on her mind. She's constantly thinking about the war and worrying about our dad and our friends. Making sure everyone's ok all the time. Making sure Aang's ok. Se cares deeply about him".

"Aang. I see." Zuko said quietly.

"Not like anything romantic. I mean, it's obvious he likes her like that, but I don't think she shares the feeling" Sokka said. Was he really trying to help the Fire Lord's kid with his sister? "Ever since we found him she's been like a mother to him. Same as with me, since we lost ours. The only times I've seen her act seriously weird is when people disappoint her. Like when she yelled at dad at the invasion, or what happened with Jet. She was furious about that, and I think really hurt too."

 _Jet? Who's Jet?_ Zuko remembered that some part in the play implied that she and a troublemaker had something going on. But then again, the play also implied _he and she_ had something going on.

"Oh, also when you double crossed us in Ba Sing Se." Sokka went on. "Oh man, she was devastated. She cried for like a month after that. I thought it was cause we almost lost Aang, but then I saw her cry over a fire. I think she really believed you had changed that time and then-"

The brown skinned boy turned to look at the firebender, and found him staring blankly at the floor. She had cried for a month? For him? Well, no wonder she hated him so much.

"Hey" Sokka waved a hand in front of Zuko's eyes. "Don't tell her I said that, alright? Anyway, she's over that now. Is there anything else you might have done to upset or disappoint her?"

"I haven't done anything". Zuko said, annoyed.

Sokka took the fruit he had selected and paid the post owner. He had a very amused expression on his face. "Maybe it's because of something you haven't done". He said.

Both teens shot death glares to the poor man and walked away.

* * *

"Okay be honest" Suki said, placing a spoon full of whatever she was making in front of the waterbender's mouth. Katara held her breath and swallowed. All the mastery in hand to hand combat, sneaking and ambushing had left no room among the Kyoshi warrior's talents for cooking.

"Mmmm…" Katara faked a smile, but it wasn't good enough to convince Suki.

"Toph, is she being honest?" The earth bender was siting in a chair, resting her feet on the table and playing lazily with Momo's tail.

"What do you think?" She said.

Suki's face fell. "Let me try yours".

Before waiting for an answer, the shorthaired girl stuck her spoon in the pot Katara was working on. Her eyes light up the second she put it in her mouth. Katara rubbed her forehead with her hand and sighed. It had been her turn to cook dinner two nights ago, but she didn't mind helping Suki or anyone who asked her.

"How come you're making two separate dinners?" Toph asked.

"I'm making something vegetarian for Aang". Katara said.

"Don't you think you baby him too much?"

"I just thought not having to worry about dinner would take off some pressure from having to save the world." The waterbender put the lid on the pot and walked over to Suki's side. "I'm not doing it for you. I'll teach you".

"Okay, but this one has to have meat. Otherwise I'm pretty sure Sokka would die". Suki said happily. Katara smiled and started giving Suki some instructions. After a while, it was clear that the Kyoshi warrior was not going to make any progress. "Woah. I suck. I'm just glad Sokka's cooking is pretty decent. If we ever got married he'd have to be the one to feed us".

Katara didn't think that would be a problem. Her brother liked to say cooking was for girls and fighting and building towers was for boys, but she still made him help her in the kitchen when they were kids in the South Pole. As a result, the boomerang boy had gotten pretty good at it.

"Do you think you'll get married?" Katara asked her. Having Suki as her sister would be the best.

"Not like tomorrow, but maybe someday when the war's over…who knows?" Suki stared out the window into the stars reflected on the ocean. It was nice to imagine that kind of scenario once in a while instead of the usual fighting against fire nation soldiers. "Don't you girls think abut stuff like that?"

"We don't have boyfriends to think about". The blind girl said and crossed her arms.

"Still, you must think about boys sometime".

"It's not like we've had much chances". Katara said, stirring the pot. "We've been travelling from place to place for so long. It was practically a miracle you and Sokka found each other again".

"Yeah, I like to think so". Sukki smiled. "But there must be someone. How about that guy in the play? Jet, was it?"

Katara tensed. She didn't like talking about Jet. At first because of what a jerk he had turned out to be and how he broke her heart. And later on when they ran into him again in Ba Sing Se looking for Appa. She couldn't think about that time without feeling terribly guilty. She could have saved him if he had let her. Or at least she could have tried.

"Yeah, Jet". She hadn't exactly loved him, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't imagine a lot of things when she met him. She shook her head, as if that could wipe off how naïve she had been with him. "It didn't work out. Was there anyone in the time you and Sokka were apart?"

"Not really. Well, not for me at least. I don't know about Sokka. I recently found out about the moon spirit. How about you, Toph?" Suki asked. She had given up on the stove and was sitting on one of the counters.

"Well, _I_ was making progress with Sokka until you came back." The earthbender said. Suki chuckled. She thought it was cute that Toph had a crush on her boyfriend, as long as she didn't do anything about it. And she didn't think the Bei Fong girl would. The sea foam eyed girl reclined back and held her head with her hands. "I don't think there's anyone else I'd bother with yet. Except, maybe Zuko".

"Oh yeah, definitely Zuko". The Kyoshi warrior agreed. Katara nearly knocked over the stove. They liked Zuko?

"What are you looking at Zuko for? You have Sokka." Toph said.

"I'm still allowed to have an opinion. Right, Katara?"

"What?" The water tribe girl was pretending to be focused on the cooking. In reality, she was freaking out. She had tried not to think about Zuko since that morning after the training session. He had been no help at all, chasing her around wanting to talk. Part of her didn't like being rude to him, but what was she supposed to say? He'd probably ask for an explanation about earlier and she honestly did not have one.

"What?" Suki said in an accusing tone. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about it. I've seen you staring at him".

"I don't know what you're talking about". Katara refused to turn around. Otherwise the girls would notice how much she was blushing.

"Oh come on, Sugar Queen. I don't need to feel your vibrations in order to tell that's a lie."

"There's nothing wrong with admitting when someone's good looking". Suki said. "You're not still mad at him, are you?"

"After everything he's done for her?" Toph answered. "It's getting old, really".

"I'm not mad at him" Katara muttered and decided to ignore what Toph was implying. "I guess you could say he's good looking".

"The scar is kind of off putting, but it doesn't take away the handsomeness." Suki said. "Besides, it gives him that mysterious, sexy look. Like he had a troubled past."

Katara snorted. _Troubled past_ was an understatement for the young firebender. For so long she had pictured his scar whenever she thought of evil. Everything was different now. The fire nation prince was proud, stubborn and extremely good looking. She thought the scar helped to bring him down to reality a little bit. Now that he was on their side, she hardly even noticed it was there at all. It was just a part of who he was and she couldn't imagine him without it. She remembered when she almost healed it with the water from the spirits oasis. If so many girls noticed him like that, she could only imagine how much attention he would get if he didn't have the scar. Probably too much to notice a common girl from the southern water tribe.

"He's a good boy now, Katara. There's no reason to be upset anymore". Toph said. "Unless you liked him better when he was bad, since you have a thing for bad boys".

"I don't have a-" Sukki and Toph started laughing. Katara ran a hand through her hair. "I'm not upset. Why would you think that?"

"Because of the way you keep avoiding him. He approached you like three times today and you basically ignored him." _They noticed?_ "Come on, Katara. Give the poor guy a chance. "

 _A chance for what?_

"I don't get what's wrong. Do you just not like him or what?" The Kyoshi warrior asked, climbing down from the counter she was sitting on to grab a taste of the pot Katara was working on. "Oh my spirits, this is amazing".

"There's nothing _wrong_. It's just weird being around him, that's all." Katara said.

"Weird how?" Suki asked.

 _Weird how?_ Weird as in she was constantly aware of his every movement. Suddenly, her eyes, through no fault of her own, were noticing every single detail about him. Out of nowhere, her body was starting to react to everything related with the firebender. Her hands wanted to stroke his hair, every time he passed close to her there was this lingering smell. Every time he talked to her, the sound of his voice sent shivers all over her body and made her heart beat faster. Whenever those gold eyes focused on her, she had to immediately look away or he would notice she had been staring. But at the same time she wanted to see if he was constantly staring at her too.

And when they were fighting, she had gotten so distracted she almost lost. She had been so embarrassed by that. How could she let her guard down for a dark haired, pale skinned, covered in sweat fire bending teenager? Why did the way his chest rose and fell with every breath that powered his attacks, the way his hair swung back and forth whenever he tried to evade her blows, the way his gold eyes were focusing on nothing but her, why did all of this captivate her so?

She was a master waterbender, trained to fight for her life with every fiber of her being. But there she was, in the middle of what could have been a real fight, yet all she could think of was the hot breath coming from his parted lips at a very close distance from hers. It was new and different and weird, but she couldn't possibly admit all of that.

"I don't know. He makes me nervous." She said. Well, that wasn't entirely false.

"It's not like he's going to turn around and attack you out of nowhere. I think that point has been made clear." Suki said

"Unless..." Toph started with a wicked tone that the water bender did not like at all. "You're worried he's gonna try to do something else" The earthbender started making kissing sounds and hugging herself. "Oh Katara, I've been trying to deny these feelings, but I can't hide them any longer. My love for you burns with the heat of one thousand Sozin's comets".

Suki and Toph started laughing harder than ever. The Bei Fong girl lost her balance and nearly ended up on the floor. Katara couldn't help but chuckle too.

"Oh grow up". She rolled her eyes and proceeded with the final touches on the stew. It was almost done. The boys would be home any minute now and the spirits know Sokka would probably be starving.

After some more laughter and bullying the poor waterbender, Toph had gone outside while Suki stayed to help Katara pour the stew into bowls. The Kyoshi warrior had noticed her friend was very wrapped up in her thinking as she went over her task. She grabbed Katara's arm to stop her to make sure she was really listening.

"Hey. If it helps, I was very nervous with Sokka too, at first". She said with a smile.

* * *

After dinner, Zuko had decided to explore what had been his home for so many summers back when he had a family. That is, a normal family who wasn't about to destroy the world. He remembered even his grand father Azulon would come and play with them in the sand. As he passed each room, he could almost picture the family members they had once belonged to. Iroh with young Lu Ten, his father and his mother, Azula's room, of course, and the nursery. Now those rooms were filled with his new friends, the closest thing he had to a family. The remaining rooms were dusty and empty.

He walked over to the back of the house. The last time he had been there was with Azula and her friends. He found everything in the exact same spot where he left it. The doors were ajar from when he kicked them open. Even the ceramic ornament with his baby handprint was still on the floor next to the pillar, only covered in dust. In a way, it was a relief to know that nobody else had been there since his last visit, and also that his new friends hadn't found his baby stuff.

It was a nice night. The sky was clear so you could see a million stars tinkling in the distance. The air was cool and refreshing. The fire nation prince sat on the floor and rested his head on the pillar. He took the ornament in his hands and started wiping the dust off. He had made it for his mother. He figured maybe if he found her again he could give it to her as a present.

The young fire bender was too deep in his thoughts to notice some footsteps approaching. Zuko almost didn't recognize her. She was dressed up all in red and gold, the colors of the fire nation. Red skirt, a red one-sleeve top, gold bracelets and a red and gold necklace. Every hint of blue was gone, except, of course, for her eyes. If it weren't for her bright blue eyes Zuko could have sworn she was a completely different person every time she wore her fire nation disguise. Even though she wasn't quite herself without her blue outfit, Zuko couldn't help but think red suited her.

Zuko instinctively straightened his posture and stood up.

"Hey" She said once she had climbed the stairs all the way to where Zuko was. "I've never been to this part of the house before".

"It's where we kept old stuff". He said.

Katara walked slowly past him, placed one hand on one of the open doors and turned to look at Zuko. He made a gesture with his hand, so she knew it was ok to go inside. He walked in after her. It was a large room with lots of pillars and many doors. Directly across them was the table where Zuko had formerly found the ceramic ornament. Above it, an empty space where a painting of his family had once hung from. He wished he hadn't burnt it.

He let the waterbender explore the room in silence. She walked over to another table, under which there was a box. She opened it and started looking at the stuff inside. The first thing to come out was a half burnt doll that had belonged to Azula. She raised and eyebrow and gave the firebender a questioning look. It made Zuko laugh.

"So she was like this even as a child". She said.

"You have no idea".

Then next thing she found was a painting. This time there was his grandfather Azulon and grandmother Ilah, uncle Iroh with his wife and a young Lu Ten. His mother was holding baby Azula and he was siting next to his father. They were all at the beach.

"I remember that day" He said to her. "Cousin Lu built a sand castle. He was very proud of it, until Azula started smashing it. My dad thought it was funny, but my mom felt sorry for Lu Ten so she made the servants bring him extra dessert on dinner."

Zuko let out a heavy sigh. Katara put the painting back and closed the box. She didn't want to bring back more memories that could hurt. The fire nation prince walked out the door and rested his body against the pillars, looking at the horizon. Katara closed the doors and joined him in the terrace. They both sat on the first step of the stairs.

"We were once a normal family, believe it or not". He said. His tone wasn't entirely sad. More like melancholic. It was painful to know that those times would never come back, but it made him happy to carry the memories with him. He turned to look at the waterbender. "Sorry, were you looking for something?"

"No. Actually I was looking for you". She said. She was staring at the floor and playing with her hair. "I wanted to apologize for being rude to you earlier. And many times before that".

That took Zuko entirely by surprise. He had decided to stop thinking about it and guessed the matter would eventually pass. This waterbender was full of surprises.

"Thank you." He said. He remembered she had a slightly horrified look on her face when he immobilized her when they were training. Maybe she had felt seriously threatened. "And if I did something to upset you, I'm sorry".

"No, you didn't do anything".

 _Ha! I knew it._ He would have to rub that on the Avatar's face. Bad listener his bison's butt.

They fell into a confortable silence for a while. Zuko watched the waterbender take the ceramic ornament he had left on the floor in her hands and run her fingers on his little handprint. She was smiling. It was a pretty sight. The clear night sky, the cool breeze, the distant sound of the waves crashing on the shore and her sitting next to him, smiling. She turned to look at him, but noticed he was staring and immediately looked away. She put the ornament down and started playing with her hair again. Zuko's brows furrowed.

"Is it always going to be weird between us?" He asked. She turned and looked straight into his eyes. He had discovered his heart started beating faster every time she did that.

"I don't know". She said.

Zuko noticed her expression had changed. It was no longer sad, but rather curious. Her head was slightly tilted to the side. Somewhere in the back of his head, he could hear a warning, but he was too intrigued to listen. It all happened faster than what his mind could process.

With her eyes locked on his, the waterbender started slowly moving closer to him. He swallowed nervously. Zuko tried to back up, but the pillar stopped him. She put one of her hands on one of his and leaned forward until their faces were only inches apart. Zuko's eyes started to close. The sound of the waves had been muffled by the sound of his own heart pounding, threatening to come out of his chest at any moment. He felt her hesitate for one agonizing moment and dreaded that this could be not real. This could be a figment of his imagination. Or worse, this could be a prank and the next time he opened his eyes he would find the whole team pointing and laughing at him.

He felt one of her hands caressing the back of his head and pulling him forward. She slowly pressed her lips against his. They were soft and warm, just like he imagined. He could feel her heart beat on his chest. She pulled back way to fast for the firebender's liking. Big blue eyes fluttered open in front of him. An unreadable expression on her face.

He was paralyzed. His body refused to move as he saw her stand up and walk away, never looking back. The fire nation prince was left siting there, alone.


End file.
